There are now a number of well established scramble routes in the Costa
Blanca. The best of these are truly awe inspiring. I have only done the Bernia so if anyone has information on the
Castellat or
any other scrambles then please email me on a_bates@hotmail.com.

Castellat Ridge

There is also quite a good write
up in PDF format on the Compass West website.

Bernia Ridge

What a fantastic day out.
I am convinced that this landmark of the Costa Blanca will become as
significant to the area as say the Penon d'Ifach or the Sella valley. The
Bernia Ridge is 4.5 Km long with consistently stunning
exposure on both sides. The route is very well way marked with red dots which is
useful as it drops from one side to the other always finding the easiest line.
Nicely, the climb up to the ridge is on the North face so you are in
shade. The descent is via a obvious line down a scree slope. Unfortunately
this is the end of the obvious path and you then have to force your way
through very sharp thorn bushes.

Bernia Ridge from the South side.

Thanks to Chris Lilley

Directions

The following google map shows how to get to the restaurant where you can park.

There is a very useful guide to this ridge produced by Paolo Fubira &
Chris Newton-Goverd. This is a very high quality guide and the one I used when I
did the ridge. It gives good directions of how to get to the parking spot as
well as the ridge itself. You can find a copy
of the guide on the University of York website.

Technical details

Scrambling up to grade 3

One pitch of grade F4 climb

5 or 6 abseils all of which are fully bolted

There are also a number of bolted exposed traverses.

Equipment Required

40m rope for the abseils

Stout walking boots

rocks boots if you are not confident climbing F4 in walking boots

Tips

Wear long trousers. The descent is through fairly dense undergrowth of the
extremely prickly variety.

Take a platypus water bottle with you. The ability to be able to be
continually supping on water is invaluable.

Allow 8-9 hours for the full traverse, you don't want to be finding your
way down through those bushes in the dark and you certainly don't want to
still be on the ridge.

Take some money so that you can have a beer in the Bernia restaurant when
you get back to the car. Go on. You deserve it.

The Bernia Ridge is great scrambling. The best option is to start in
Casas del Bernia and then follow to the Bernia Hole (following the PR V
7 to the left). East to West. When you finish the hardest part (3/4 of the
ridge) you will arrive to the easiest part (to arrive to the summit). It is
possible to return to the car going down to the right (the last abseil).

Better is follow to the summit and return by the normal route, rounding
the Bernia Summit then, and taking again the PR V 7. Not less than 8 or 9 hours, normally. Start early and carry water.
The ridge is fantastic.

Thanks to David Mora Garcia for these tips.

The Crux (about F4)

Thanks to Simon Caldwell

The Bridge

Thanks to Simon Caldwell

Crest of Benicadell

If you head North out of Alcoy on the N-340 you will pass a mountain on your
right. The crest of which forms a 1500ft scramble. I have received a guide to
this route written by Trevor Allen:

Thanks to Trevor Allen

Park at the refuge, 'Casa Forestal' then walk up the tarmac road until you come to a four wheel track branching off to the left. Follow this track until you see an obvious footpath on the right that runs parallel to the ridge. It first starts out as a good path but as it progresses it slowly decreases in size until only a few cairns and patches of faint erosion shows you which way to go. Eventually a long, loose, scree slope descends the hillside until you are nearly level with the foot of the ridge. It only needs a short traverse then to reach an obviously used area below a cavelike recess up from the eastern foot of the ridge.

The Spanish guidebook states that the start of the route is supposed to be up an easy gully somewhere on the northern flank of the ridge, (maybe 100 mts up from its foot) but we haven't found it as yet. However, the ridge can be started by gaining access near its lowest point. On the right-hand side of the ridge, a small way up from its foot, there is an obvious cavelike recess. This gives access to the upper groove and so on to the ridge proper. There are two pitches to climb to gain the ridge which are about 4+ and 4. It starts in the cavelike recess, goes up over the
bulge, (ring peg), traverses leftwards (peg) to an obvious belay at the foot of a groove. Pitch two goes straight up the groove (peg) until you reach the ridge proper. The long scramble starts here and a rope is only optional as to ones feelings.

Further on, up the ridge, there are several climbing pitches. The first being an easy groove. The second is where there is a very steep wall with a thread up high on the face. On the left of this is a wide crack and the route traverses past this for twenty feet (peg) then comes back right to a short steep wall (peg) which puts you above the belay that you started from. This is the last serious piece of climbing before one reaches the summit. The descent follows a very good footpath that zigzags down the north side of the mountain back to the road.

If all else fails. One can also gain the ridge from the Gayanes side but the descent down from the summit on that side of the mountain isn't easy.

Thanks to Trevor Allen for this guide.

A good selection of photos from the scramble can be found on this page of the
Paco Flor website.

Guidebook

I have heard from David
Mora Garcia that there is a guide currently being developed by the Mountain
Federation of Valencia (the governing body for climbing in the Costa Blanca area) that will
cover scrambles.

The guide will cover all mountains in the Valencian area
(including Bernia, Puig Campana, Castellets full topo, Benicadell, and much
more). They are hoping to finish the work this summer (2004) and then to get it printed
in October.